Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 71(6), 2004, pp. 783-786
Copyright © 2004 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
SHORT REPORT: EVALUATION OF HEPATIC FIBROSIS IN PERSONS CO-INFECTED WITH SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI AND HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS 1
PAULINE N. M. MWINZI,
DIANA M. S. KARANJA,
IRERI KAREKO,
PHILLIP W. MAGAK,
ALLOYS S. S. ORAGO,
DANIEL G. COLLEY, AND
W. EVAN SECOR
Center for Vector Biology and Control Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya; Center for Clinical Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya; Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya; Department of Zoology, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya; Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases and the Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia; Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
ABSTRACT
To investigate whether infection with human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) affects fibrosis development in patients infected with Schistosoma mansoni, we evaluated schistosomiasis-induced pathology in the livers of Kenyan patients co-infected with HIV-1. Compared with persons with schistosomiasis alone (n = 58), there were no significant differences in distribution of ultrasound-detectable pathology in persons with HIV-1 co-infection (n = 23). Similarly, serum aspartate aminotransferase levels were not significantly different in HIV-1+ individuals. Hepatic fibrosis was associated with significantly decreased CD4+ T cell counts, even in the absence of HIV-1 infection. These data suggest that HIV-1 co-infection does not significantly alter the proportion of patients experiencing schistosomiasis-induced fibrosis, but pathology associated with S. mansoni infections leads to CD4+ T cell reductions and thereby may exacerbate the effects of HIV-1 in co-infected individuals.
Received May 14, 2004.
Accepted for publication July 1, 2004.
Acknowledgments: This paper is published with the permission of the Director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute. We thank Julius Andove and Kenedy Matunda for field and laboratory technical assistance.
Financial support: This project was funded in part by National Institutes of Health grant AI-053695 and The University of Georgia Research Foundation. Pauline N. M. Mwinzi was supported by World Health Organization/Tropical Disease Research training grant no. 971183.
Authors addresses: Pauline N. M. Mwinzi and Diana M. S. Karanja, Vector Biology and Control Research Centre, Kenya Medical Research Institute, PO Box 1578, Kisumu, Kenya, E-mails: pmwinzi{at}kisian.mimcom.net and dkaranja{at}kisian.mimcom.net. Ir-eri Kareko, Centre for Clinical Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya. Phillip W. Magak, Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya. Alloys S. S. Orago, Department of Zoology, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. Daniel G. Colley, Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, Room 623, Biological Sciences Building, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, E-mail: dcolley{at}uga.edu. W. Evan Secor, Division of Parasitic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Mail-stop F-13, Atlanta, GA 30341, E-mail: was4{at}cdc.gov.
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Copyright © 2004 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.